nate_studio

Nope I've done the Best & Worst 3 times. Here's a look at my first time out doing the Best & Worst of 2007. It's funny looking back at that show and seeing how things have progressed over the years. Thanks for doing this for 3 years, man. Sure, 2007's may seem a little humble, but that's just because we have something to compare it to now. Can't wait to see what you'll do next year (maybe I'll even remember to vote!)

Amazing job, Mini-Myte! That was awesome. Have you only done this two years? Both comics are so great I want to make sure I'm not missing out on any. Thanks for putting on such a great show. And thanks DST for another great year of minimates. Sure there were a few turds, but overall there were a ton of amazing mates this year

I could see this thread going in to Season 2 if we get through everything in time. If not, I'd say start a separate thread for S2 with Spoiler alerts while we keep this thread for ReWatching the series. And I'd definitely keep Spider-Man out of this, shared universe or not. It's a heavy enough thread with just one show. I'd love to discuss the new Spidey toon (or ReWatch Spectacular Spider-Man)... just in another thread. S1:E14 - Masters of Evil Zemo! Enchantress! Executioner! Abomination! Wonder Man! Crimson Dynamo! Together, they are unstoppable. We finally get to see the confrontation that's been building since the beginning. Both sides have been forming and now the bad guys make their first move. Zemo has a scheme-o that involves taking out the Avengers one by one. Unfortunately for them, he didn't know about Panther or Hawkeye. They do a great job taking out the rest of the Avengers, though. Thor puts up the best fight, but they are still able to overwhelm him once they take Mjolnir away. They also had a creative solution for Hulk by sending him to fight Frost Giants. Of course, the good guys are able to win the day when Panther, Hawkeye and Ant-Man drop in. Wow. Who would have expected that sentence? But it's true. Those three B-list Avengers really save the team and do an awesome job of it. Even Ant-Man has some awesome moments. (Yes I will continue to give Hank a hard time.) Anyway, we get the fight we all wanted to see at the end of the episode. It's everybody against everybody and it's awesome. I honestly wouldn't have minded if they beefed this episode up into a two-parter, but maybe they didnt' want to right after the two-part Gamma World. Or maybe I just like the way this show does fight scenes so I wouldn't have minded seeing a much longer battle between the Avengers and the Masters of Evil. It's funny that the episode description lists the MoE as being unstoppable, because they totally are stopped at the end of the episode. They retreat and we are left to wonder if it was all just a part of a much larger plan (Hint: It is.) Meanwhile, Hawkeye is left to wonder why he always has to save the rest of the team. Favorite moment: Black Panther: I am an Avenger. I will meet my end with pride. Hawkeye: I'm going to meet mine with kicking and screaming.

The thing that kills me about 90s Beast is the hair. I ditched his bulky chest piece because it was slightly off-color and totally restricted his arm movement. Beast needs to be able to raise his arms. But if you get rid of the chest piece then his hair is way too big (I think it's still too big with the chest piece on, but definitely with it off). So it bums me out that this version is so close to perfect that I don't really need a new Beast, just a new hair piece. And to me the Friends and Foes Black Cat is also near perfect - just needed a better flesh tone on her chest. I generally agree with what the list so far. It would be awesome if someone compiled a list and dropped it on the first page for quick reference... Not me, but someone else :grin:

Cool with me if Miry agrees. I hadn't tried to compare the Avengers to Beast Wars.... but now that you mention it I'll try. PS- It has been years since I've seen Beast Wars, so I guess I'm a little foggy. Cap = Optimus - heroic hero in red, white and blue Iron Man = Cheetor? - charismatic fun guy who's not quite ready to lead? Thor = ...? Am I forgetting a Maximal? Depth Charge? Wasp = AirRazor? - girl who can fly? Ant-Man = Rhinox? - brilliant scientist who would rather not fight (but is a heavy hitter when you need him) Hulk = Dinobot - rough around the edges with a heart of gold Hawkeye = Rattrap - sarcastic guy who's great in a pinch Black Panther = Tigatron - quite, reserved, and lethal I don't know, man. That's my best guess. Is it just me or do they show a close up of Black Widow's butt every chance they get? (Not that I'm complaining) And Miry, again, thanks for the info. I love reading your little histories. I never knew the same guy developed both Cap's shield and Adimantium. I never knew about ...well most of the stuff you mentioned. Really, unless it's been in a cartoon, movie, or the few dozen X-Men and Spider-Man comics I've read, I probably don't know it. So given that this show is about the Avengers, I'll take the opportunity to learn everything I can. That's part of why this show is so great. It's a cleaned up, stream lined, focused version of Avengers history. Capturing and recreating some of their greatest moments. That's also why I'm glad it's not really the same universe as Wovlerine and the X-Men... that show left out a lot of their great parts and actually created a universe where a lot of them can't ever happen.

I think I'll wait til Monday to start episode 14. I don't want to get too ahead and break up the conversation. There are only three of us and we're all on different episodes. Plus I really want to read everything Miry will have to say about the two part Gamma World!

And the dedication to make one of those! I'll have to spend some time with these later to see what I can learn

Expendables was an okay action movie. Very over the top, cheesy, and bloody, so go in expecting that and you'll have fun. DST, you have made me SO happy! First off, everything looks great. Even the stuff I won't be buying (MAX, Monsters, Zombies, Pirates... I'm pretty much in it for Marvel) all looks fantastic. Speaking of Marvel -- WOW. I love it every time you bring me more X-Men. I love the new bulked up Colossus and Rhino. I didn't think I needed another black-suited Havok or another Venom, but after seeing these I know I do now. That transformation Venom is soooo cool! I also love his big claw hands. Oh and the Brood? Awesome. You guys are killing it so far. Can't wait to see what else you have planned for this year.

Are we going through these too fast? Should I take a break for a little bit to let you two catch up? S1:E13 - Gamma World: Part 2 The Leader's master plan has been unleashed, and half of North America has been turned into Gamma Monsters, including the Avengers! Awesome. This episode is, of course, a continuation of everything that was going on last time. Hawkeye is still trying to bring Black Widow to the Avengers who are recovering after their encounter at the Cube. Now, the Leader is using his device on a much larger scale. His gamma dome has enveloped Las Vegas and keeps spreading outward. His plan is a little crazy, but it seems like something a guy would do who believes to be the smartest person on the planet -- reduce everyone else to dumb monsters that he can control. When Las Vegas gets covered, all of the Avengers turn in to monsters except for Thor, who is unaffected due to his Asgardian status. It's a little cheesy that Wasp becomes an insect monster, Panther becomes a panther monster, Iron Man becomes a tech zombie and Cap becomes... well I'm not really sure. It works for the most part. Hawkeye is able to outrun the dome and find Hulk/Banner for help. Banner creates an anti-gamma arrow for Hawkeye to use on the Avengers and the two head back to the dome. Meanwhile, Thor is getting the snot beat out of him by Abomination and Absorbing Man. The fight between Thor and Absorbing Man is really cool though, and Thor definitely proves himself more than once in the fight. So the heroes win over evil and save the day from the gamma dome. But, wait... there seems to be ONE GLARING PROBLEM WITH THIS EPISODE! Leader keeps telling Thor, Hawkeye and whoever will listen all about how smart he is and how he thinks on a different level that we can't understand. He goes on and on about how this plan is perfect and how he's predicted everything that's happened and has a million contingency plans if something goes wrong. And yet, he's defeated by Hulk breaking his equipment. SERIOUSLY?!! You even expected the Hulk to get involved, but you somehow failed to think that he would BREAK SOMETHING? He's your main nemesis, man! He even said he was there to smash things! Granted, he didn't 'smash' the equipment so much as 'rip it apart', but it's basically the same thing, right? And you DIDN'T PLAN FOR THAT? The Leader lost all credibility. Unless his plan all along was to be defeated so that the League of Evil could recruit him or something. Favorite moment: Thor controlling Absorbing Man.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday BHM!

The fingers detail is a nice touch! I'm a little disappointed he won't have his labcoat, black t-shirt and purple pants, but maybe it looked too ridiculous in the real world...?

Happy Birthday, Miry! Thanks for dropping all the Marvel knowledge -- I love picking that stuff up!

That trailer looks really good! It looks like this movie will fix a lot of the problems I had with the Raimi movies. I keep going back and forth on his costume, though. What really bothers me the most is just how they've done the eyes. I like Spidey to have big white eyes, not these dark yellowish ones. I guess that'a pretty small complaint overall though. I think the actors will be great, the story seems interesting, and Lizard could be pretty cool. It also seems like part of what drives Peter is his guilt over helping to create the Lizard and not just guilt over Unlce Ben. I'm not sure his origin needed to be retold, but the Raimi-verse had too many problems or missed opportunities to continue. I've got good feelings about Amazing Spider-Man

I'm looking forward to this movie, but I don't really buy movie mates (no offense, DST or Marvel). However, I may have to pick up a Peter Parker for that hair piece and skateboard and maybe Gwen depending on how much she looks like Emma Stone. Otherwise, I'll just stick to my 616 mates. Can't wait to see what else you'll have to show off!

Good to have you back, TM2! Hope you can catch up fast, because we're on to S1:E12 - Gamma World: Part 1 A dome of gamma energy envelops the Cube, turning everyone inside of it into a gamma monster. A pretty accurate episode description, if short. Most of the episode deals with the gamma dome around the Cube, but there's also a side story continuing Hawkeye's adventure with Black Widow. It still looks like Widow is a traitor and was trying to give Hulk's blood sample to HYDRA, however both the Avengers and SHIELD think that Hawkeye is the traitor. Hawkeye is able to out maneuver a slew of HYDRA agents and capture Black Widow (it was pretty impressive arrow slinging there) with the intention of turning her over to the Avengers. But back to the dome... The Leader is planning something big turning ordinary people in to gamma monsters and then controlling them with some sort of headband thingy. He starts (relatively) small at the Cube, turning SHIELD agents into his first batch of monsters. The Avengers show up to stop Leader, investigate the dome, and help the SHIELD agents. This leads to the team getting their first mission-specific costume change. Well, everyone but Thor gets a costume change. He's just too awesome to need anything else. Once they make it inside the dome, we get an awesome action scene. It's fun, it's fast, it's fluid, and there is some humor mixed in. Great stuff. After knocking the snot out of the first few monsters, they get inside the Cube where they face a few legit super villains. I can't name many of them but they were cool looking and gave a great challenge to the heroes. One thing I do have an issue with is Vapor getting inside Cap's helmet. Isn't his suit designed to keep air out? Other than that, it was a great second round. I loved it when Thor stood up to that electrical guy (sorry I don't know his name... Zaxx or something, right?) Some other great character moments are follow ups to things I mentioned in the last episode. There are a few different instances where Iron Man isn't quite cutting it as the team leader. He just doesn't really think about field tactics or group dynamics. Cap fills in some of the blanks, though. It was also really funny when Wasp reacted to Black Panther speaking. He's very much the 'still waters run deep' kind of guy. He even breaks away from the team without telling anyone his plan and (again) lets them be the diversion while he goes for the goal. Ant-Man... oh wait. He wasn't in this episode was he? Just kidding, Ant-Fans. Just having some fun at his expense since I made such a big deal about Thor's absence last episode. Just kidding. There are no Ant-Fans. Oh and I love that this is a two-part episode! Can't wait for the next one. Favorite moment: "Leaders lead."

Looking forward to it, Miry. Oh and I forgot to add my favorite moment: Cap asking the projectionist to make the image brighter.

I did not watch the Super Bowl. I did, however, make sure to watch the extended trailer. CANNOT WAIT for THIS MOVIE!

Yeah, that probably could have helped keep Aunt May's medical bills down... Anyway, on to: S1:E11 - Panther's Quest The Prince of Wakanda has been stalking the Avengers for weeks, and now the Black Panther strikes! But wait... Where's Thor? Black Panther is probably the team member I know the least about. I know he's the King of Wakanda and that Wakanda has super advanced tech but keeps to themselves, but I know very little about his own abilities or personality. It's nice to see him finally join the team after creeping around for a few episodes. I also liked how he was originally just using the team of heroes as a distraction so he could get revenge on Man-Ape/reclaim his throne. Even in asking for their help, he still believed he didn't need it. This was also the first episode where I realized Iron Man was the leader. I just assumed originally that Cap would take the lead after joining the team, but really it makes sense that Iron Man is in that position. He's not the best leader, but he owns the mansion and the jet and really helped bring the team together. I still expected Cap to take charge at some point this season, but he still respected his place and took orders. Maybe something will happen early on in season two where they decide Cap would be a better leader. Or maybe I misunderstood my history of the Avengers and Cap wasn't really ever in charge? I don't know. I thought he lead the Ultimates at least. Anyway, here Iron Man's leadership leads to a bad call (that works out in the end). I appreciate how this show develops its characters. You have Iron Man in charge even though he isn't that great a leader and has communication and responsibility issues. There's Black Panther who joined the team more to just get out in the world rather than feeling a need to depend on the others. There's Ant-Man who doesn't even want to be a super hero and who is somewhat of a pacifist. Cap who is a natural leader, but takes bad orders because he's such a soldier. Hulk who is seen by the world as a monster, but wants to make a better name for himself. And so on. They just feel way more real and interesting than if everyone got along and just wanted to do good and fight crime and hang out and be best friends like a lesser show might do. But seriously, where was Thor?

Funny to think the Avengers are given a salary for what they do. I mean, I guess they have living expenses and risk their lives on a daily basis, but still seems weird. Anyway, I figured Simon's red/green suit had to have some kind of 616 nod. As far as his story comparison between 616 and EMH, it might have been cool to do it more the way of the comics. At least the part where he infiltrates the Avengers to betray them. That could have been cool, but would have needed at least two episodes so maybe they didn't want to spend the time at this point while both teams (good and evil) are still assembling. Then again, it could have been cool if the Avengers were betrayed by a new recruit and then were skeptical when someone like Hawkeye or Black Panther - who have had sketchy pasts in episodes so far - wanted to join. That said, I still like this episode and love how this show has so much respect for the comic history.

My first thought was about how unnecessary these are. Prequels generally aren't a good idea. And with Watchmen, they already touched on many of the characters pasts, so I'm not even sure what stories they will tell. Do we need to know what happened to any of the characters between all of the events of Watchmen during the various time periods in encompasses? I don't think so. I don't need to see Rorschach in all of those years where he was already crazy and eating cold beans. I don't need to read a story about Nite Owl getting older and fatter. Watchmen covers the major events in their lives. That said, DC has an incredible line up of writers and artists for this project so I'm a little interested.

This show is awesome. Miry, you're really giving me a better appreciation of it - knowing little bits and pieces that were directly inspired by the comics. One question I've been wondering, though: do the Avengers ID cards have any 616 significance? S1:E10 - Everything is Wonderful A business decision by Tony Stark leads rival Simon Williams to go to extreme measures for revenge: He seeks help from the Grim Reaper and Aim. Tony has some really bad communication problems in this episode that lead to the creation of Wonder Man. Although I don't think they actually called him that in this episode. We also get a glimpse of Wonder Man's brother, Grim Reaper, and the hilarious MODOC (I'm going with the EMH acronym here instead of traditional MODOK). Not my favorite episode, but not bad by any means. I'm just more interested in Cap and Thor than Iron Man and Ant-Man. Everyone has their personal preferences. I did appreciate the different views represented by the different scientists here. It's interesting to see how Ant-Man tries to reason with villains mid-battle while every other super hero is 'punch first, ask questions later'. It was also fun to see how excited Ant-Man was about researching Wonder Man even if it left him wide open for attack. Pym just really isn't a fighter and it's nice to see them use that in this show for both laughs and philosophy. Cap gets a nice moment with Fury and gets his motorcycle back. He even makes an appearance in the show looking a lot like that recent leather jacket Cap minimate. Like I said last episode, it's nice to give Cap a few ties to this modern world he's suddenly found himself in. I also liked the team of Thor and Wasp. Their encounter with MODOC was great. The two of them really worked well together - Thor being so big and powerful and Wasp being small and crafty. I also like how the guys on the team feel such a need to protect Wasp. She's small and she's so caring that when she's in danger, the guys will risk themselves to help her. Cap last episode with that bomb in the mansion and Thor here when the lab exploded. Best moment: Ant-Man getting punched in the face because he got too excited about science to focus on fighting.

Radical! These look great! I love my NECA turtles, and the old school Playmates figures and these would be awesome to add to my collection! Like Battlecat said, the NECA are the perfect Mirage turtles, these look like the perfect 80s toon turtles. It's good to see Playmates trying to keep up with articulation (finally). Hopefully this means the toys for the new Nick show will be good too. EDIT: I just checked out that other link. The toys for the new show look AWESOME! I'm so excited for TMNT! The turtles look fantastic and that playset is massive!

Just saw this too, Vox. Was wondering if it had been posted yet. Iron Man and Cap look great. Thor's hair looks a little ...big? Do we think that's Hulk or one of the REDACTED?

Hope you figure out your Xbox soon, TM2. Today's Monday, so I'm moving on to: S1:E9 - Living Legend On the hunt for the Hulk, the Avengers stumble across another hero, long thought to be lost ... Captain America! Like I mentioned last time, I love how they are doing a slow introduction for the characters and taking their time adding them to the team. This way we really get a build up of the team, the relationships between characters, and group dynamics. If everyone was thrown together at once, it would be harder to see these things. This episode gives us Captain America (and to a much smaller extent, Black Panther). Cap is a total champ. He really is a super soldier and I love how he's handled in this show. It's always fun to focus on the man-out-of-time bits with Cap and this episode gives us a little about that, also mixed with some past history and familiar villains. It's great how everything comes together here. Cap goes through a great arc in this episode- from a warrior suspecting the Avengers are HYDRA, to broken hearted when he learns what happened, to rising to action when he's needed. We also get a great little moment between him and Tony at the end of the episode. I like their little connection via Tony's dad. It helps give Cap some kind of roots in this time and place. Other mentions go to Wasp who is really the heart of the team. She was the first to reach out to Hulk and to try and comfort Cap. She's a big part of what keeps the team together, really. And she does it without being the team mom. She's just sweet and compassionate. Another possible reference to her maybe being a mutant here is Cap asks her about her powers and she only responds with "It's complicated." She doesn't say 'science' or 'Pym particles' or anything like that. Like I said last time, they keep it all really vague which just makes me wonder if they never quite decided themselves which direction they wanted to go. I also like the little friendly rivalry between Thor and Iron Man/Ant-Man when it comes to technology and science. Thor doesn't really trust any of it at this point while Tony and Hank have dedicated their lives to it. Unfortunately, so have many of their villains. And speaking of villains... Zemo is given immediate street cred when he easily takes down Reaper (who we saw take down SHIELD earlier). Despite having a TERRIBLE costume (fur trim on purple jumpsuit?) he's a definite threat. And he also has it out for Cap in a bad way. I grew up always thinking Red Skull was the archnemesis to Cap, but Zemo is definite competition. Maybe Miry can lend some insight to that? Also, the glob monsters were really fun. They were enough of a menace to serve the biggest storylines here without being too important. Plus they just looked fun. The battle between Zemo and Cap was awesome, but it's really true that the shield accounts for 80% of Cap's fighting style. Luckily Panther was there to return the shield to it's owner. We're not really sure at this point what Panther is up to, though. He was sneaking around the mansion, reading info on the Avengers, but able to lend a hand. Another nice touch (last one, I promise) is how the villains are assembling at the same time the Avengers are. We're still waiting for Panther and Hawkeye to join the team (and for Hulk to return) meanwhile Enchantress is collecting her key players for the side of evil. Best moment: Iron Man: Avengers ASSEMBLE! Ant-Man: We're all right here. Iron Man: *long pause*